Huge slowdown

Last week my computer started running slow and at first I thought it was software related so I reinstalled windows, after the installation it was running slower than usuall but it was ok, then it gradually started to get worse as the days went by. So I reinstalled it again and got the same problem I even had a friend reinstall windows incase I was doing something wrong but still it started running slow. It got so bad that when I booted the computer up it got to the windows XP logo screen and didnt get past it.

I took the computer back to the shop and had them look at it and they said they can find nothing wrong with it. I get home and still have the same problem. Im not going mad it is really slow and the people at my local shop are retards, so now I need some real help.

Im sure the problem is hardware related but I have no idea what it could be

any help is much apriciated and thanks in advance.

P.S. im a bit of a computer novice and if I mess about with anything inside I will prolly do more damage than good.

system info:

Computer
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
OS Service Pack Service Pack 2
Internet Explorer 6.0.2900.2180

Motherboard
CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 2079 MHz (6.25 x 333) 2600+
Motherboard Name MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR (MS-6570G) (5 PCI, 1 AGP, 1 ACR, 3 DIMM, Audio, LAN, IEEE-1394)
Motherboard Chipset nVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400
System Memory 1024 MB (DDR SDRAM)
BIOS Type Award (08/02/04)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display
Video Adapter SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600 ATLANTIS - Secondary (256 MB)
Video Adapter SAPPHIRE RADEON 9600 ATLANTIS (256 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI Radeon 9600 (RV350)
Monitor Plug and Play Monitor [NoDB]

Multimedia
Audio Adapter nVIDIA MCP2 - Audio Codec Interface
Audio Adapter nVIDIA MCP2 - Audio Processing Unit (Dolby Digital)

Storage
Floppy Drive Floppy disk drive
Disk Drive SAMSUNG SP0612N (60 GB, 7200 RPM, Ultra-ATA/133)
Disk Drive SCSI Disk Device
Optical Drive ATAPI DVD-ROM 16XMax (16x DVD-ROM)
Optical Drive MSI CD-RW CR52 (52x/32x/52x CD-RW)

Partitions
C: (NTFS) 57262 MB (48328 MB free)

Input
Keyboard Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse PS/2 Compatible Mouse
Game Controller Microsoft PC-joystick driver

Network
Primary IP Address 192.168.1.2
Primary MAC Address 00-0C-76-3D-D3-97
Network Adapter NVIDIA nForce MCP Networking Controller (192.168.1.2)

Peripherals
USB Device USB Human Interface Device

 

I also ran western digitals HD diagnostic tool after windows checkdisk failed and the quick test failed with the message "06-Quick Test on drive 1 did not complete! Status code = 07 (Failed read test element), Failure Checkpoint = 127 (Unknown Test) SMART self-test did not complete on drive 1!"

And when I try to run an extended test it gets so far and then locks up and after 15 mins of running the estimated time to completion is 9 and a half hours, is this normal?

 

Looks like your harddrive is going there are many tests for harddisk performance here at MG,one that comes to mind is the one integrated into speedfan

http://majorgeeks.com/SpeedFan_d337.html

load the app at click the smart tab It will instantly show you the health of your drive

 

ok downloaded that file and it says my hard drive is at 55% fitness and 100% performance. Could this be causing the slowdown?

 

I have never seen speedfan show a fitness that low before,I think it might be a good idea to try a different drive

 

Ok a new hard drive it is.

Thanks for your help Rikky and take care.

 

NP M8 thanks,remember to keep the drive and the receipt for your new one,if you experience the same problem return it and start troubleshooting again,let me know how you get on

 

I have a problem similar to this issue.
I ran speedfan and found out my old hard drive ( st360020a ) that I'm currently running has about 40% fitness and 100% performance.
My new hard drive ( wdraptor360 ) has 100% on both.
The problem is that both seem IMO to boot up and load programs at the same speed.
Is there a problem with my comp setup?
( also, after installing xp service pack 2, my boot-up time increased tremendously, doubling my sp1 time. )

Specs: 2.8Ghz P4, 512x2 RAM, nvidia 6600GT, 60gig 3600rpm HD, 37gig 10000rpm HD.

 

Rikky, you know about my pc problems with host files and stuff,

I just tried speed fan, and the stats are 87%fiteness and 100% performance, is this good, cos ive had this harddrive for over three years and havent formatted it once, which is why i think im having soo many problems.

 

87% aint too bad,your harddrive is starting to run slow because it hasnt been maintained and you have too much stuff on it,you only have about 2% free space and an unlimited page file size and you havnt defragged your drive for years,you only have a 500mhz cpu,I'm suprised you can even boot into windows,the performance when optimal will be horrendous,I would uninstall xp and install win98.

if you want to risk it theres a trick you can try,putting the drive into the freezer for a few hours then intalling it into your computer can give you an idea of how much your drive is slowing down performance,you could lose all your data though,I have never tried it.

k41n,alot of the time it takes to load an windows is based on how fast your system is also,the first thread I ever started here at MG was exactly the same as yours named slow raptor,after some research I realised the times people were quoting for thier loadup times were exaggerated or just plain BS or on a freshly intalled copy of windows with no service packs or hotfixes,the service packs do double you load times its just something you have to live with if you want a stable secure xp

The best way to increase the speed of your drive would be to do a google search to find a harddrive optimization guide,you are really limited on what you can adjust though as everything is set auto for best performance on these new drives

 

here is a guide I have just found,I am also reading it and may be trying some of the tweaks if I think they are worth trying

http://www.pcguide.com/opt/opt/hdd-c.html

 

urrrgghh,ignore that guide its too old.lol